“It’s been a rough couple days for me,’’ Gray admitted, having been bounced from the rotation, and having an old, insensitive Twitter comment surface. “But everyone in this clubhouse, all the guys, the coaches and the support staff, everyone had my back.''

CC Sabathia had backed up that sentiment a moment earlier, saying: “We all pull for each other. We got fired up for him, it was good to see him do well.’’

Gray struck out four batters, but his best moment was getting Jose Abreu to fly out to right – with the winning run on second base – to end the 12th.

New York Yankees' Miguel Andujar, center, is greeted by teammates after hitting a home run against the Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, in Chicago. David Banks, AP

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton (27) is greeted by Didi Gregorius (18) after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the 10th inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, in Chicago. David Banks, AP

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton (27) gestures after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the 10th inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, in Chicago. David Banks, AP

Aug 7, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) celebrates his two run home run during the tenth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton is safe at first as Chicago White Sox's Jose Abreu tries to catch the throw during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, in Chicago. Annie Rice, AP

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Abreu’s two-out homer off Zach Britton had sent the game on to the 11th.

“The way he pitched was huge for us, picking us up,’’ said Sabathia, who started the game and struck out 12 White Sox in 5.2 innings. “It’s been a rough week for him, but for him to come back and perform like that, it was huge.’’

The tipping point came on Aug. 1, when Gray couldn’t get out of the third inning against Baltimore.

Lance Lynn tossed 4.1 innings of scoreless relief in place of Gray, who was replaced in the rotation by the right-handed Lynn – who’d just been acquired via trade from Minnesota.

"He took that like a professional,'' Sabathia said of Gray's demotion to the bullpen. "He handled that well.''

Gray warmed up briefly at Boston on Sunday night, but never entered the game. Aroldis Chapman blew the save in the ninth and Jonathan Holder took the loss in a devastating, 5-4 defeat by the Red Sox.

“No matter what the circumstance, no matter what the score, I just wanted to get back on the mound,’’ said Gray, the sixth reliever used by manager Aaron Boone on Tuesday night.

Boone was “proud of the effort’’ he received from Gray, who displayed “confidence and focus’’ for his first Yankees relief assignment.

"He was electric with his stuff, he was aggressive,'' Boone said. Hopefully, it’s a role he can continue to thrive in and provide us with maybe a new weapon to have with some length down there.’’

“Honestly, it’s been tough circumstances for him this week,’’ Boone said. “And when we put him in this role, one of the things we said is (that) you’ve got to be ready because you may not know when’’ the call will come.

Tuesday marked Gray's first big-league appearance as a reliever since his rookie year with Oakland in 2013.

“One run and the game is over,’’ Gray said of his mindset to pitch aggressively with his fastball-curveball arsenal. “I just attacked and let my stuff play.’’

“First and foremost, I’m excited for him,’’ Boone said. “Because when we made this move, obviously, that’s difficult news’’ for a starter to hear.

“But one of the things we challenged him on right away was, ‘You’re going into an important role. And you don’t know how it’s going to manifest itself.’

“Well, the first time out there happened to be in the most high-leverage spot you could be (in),’’ Boone said. “And for him to go out there and absolutely deliver, and to see the guys react to him and how excited they were for him’’ was especially noteworthy.

The significance of those three score innings, and the reaction of his teammates, resonated with Gray.

“It’s good to get a win there,’’ Gray said for the team, yet, “that was big for me, personally.’’